2000
#4,361
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,526
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.79
Rare Last name
Blunt
An English occupational surname for a person who makes or sells blunt instruments or weapons.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,813 Americans carry the last name Blunt. That puts it at #4,476 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 38,892 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Blunt surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Blunt with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.8K
1 in 38,892
Census rank
#4,476
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,685 bearers of the surname Blunt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4476th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Blunt, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.1%. The next largest groups are White (42.3%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Blunt
The surname Blunt originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "blunt," meaning "ruddy complexion" or "light brown hair." The name likely referred to someone with a reddish or fair complexion.
In its earliest forms, the name was recorded as "le Blunt" or "Blund" in various English records and documents from the 12th and 13th centuries. One of the earliest known mentions of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1198, which listed a person named "Gilbertus Blundus."
The Blunt surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Blunt's Green in Oxfordshire and Blount's Farm in Wiltshire. These place names may have originated from individuals bearing the Blunt surname who lived or owned land in those areas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Blunt surname can be found in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners and tenants in England after the Norman Conquest. The name appeared as "Blundus" in this record.
Throughout history, the Blunt surname has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest was Sir Walter Blunt, a 14th-century English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War and was present at the Battle of Crécy in 1346. Another prominent figure was Sir Christopher Blunt (1555-1615), an English politician and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 17th century, Henry Blunt (1634-1693) was an English Catholic writer and controversialist who authored several religious works. Later, Edmund Blunt (1770-1862) was a celebrated English navigator and hydrographer who surveyed and charted various regions of the world's oceans.
The Blunt surname also gained prominence in the literary world with the birth of Wilfred Scawen Blunt (1840-1922), an English poet and writer known for his works on Middle Eastern affairs and his involvement in the British colonial administration in India.
While the Blunt surname has its origins in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and descendants of the original bearers of the name. However, its roots can be traced back to the medieval period in England, where it first emerged as a descriptive name associated with physical characteristics and place names.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Blunt
Among Census respondents with the surname Blunt, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.1%. The next largest groups are White (42.3%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Blunt bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Blunt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.1% · 3,616
- White42.3% · 3,254
- Two or more races5.2% · 399
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 315
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 67
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 34
Timeline
Historical Census data for Blunt
Blunt appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#4,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,326
+800 bearers (+10.6%)
Per 100,000 2.82
Rank movement Up 102 places
2020
#4,476
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,685
-641 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 2.57
Rank movement Down 217 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,361 | 7,526 | 2.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,259 | 8,326 | 2.82 | +800 bearers (+10.6%) | Up 102 places |
| 2020 | #4,476 | 7,685 | 2.57 | -641 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 217 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Blunt surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #4,259 | #4,476 | -5.1% |
| Count | 8,326 | 7,685 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.82 | 2.57 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Blunt bearers went from 8,326 to 7,685 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 217 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,259 to #4,476.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Blunt
FAQ
Blunt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Blunt?
Name Census estimates that about 8,813 living Americans carry the surname Blunt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 38,892 residents.
How common is Blunt?
Blunt ranks #4,476 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,685 people with the surname Blunt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,813), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Blunt.
Has Blunt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Blunt went from 8,326 recorded bearers to 7,685. That is a decrease of 641 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,259 to #4,476.
What does the Census say about the background of Blunt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Blunt, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.1%. The next largest groups are White (42.3%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Blunt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.1% (3,616 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Blunt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (47.1%), White (42.3%), Two or More Races (5.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Blunt (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Blunt mean?
An English occupational surname for a person who makes or sells blunt instruments or weapons. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Blunt (2.57 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Blunt?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Blunt is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.